Many current reprographic and printing systems currently include finishing options such as, for example, stapling, hole punching and folding options such as V-folding, C-folding and Z-folding. Manufacturers of such systems typically provide a user interface including a means for selecting desired finishing options. Finishing parameters are normally presented via a combination of icon and/or text labels describing each provided finishing option so that the user may select particular finishing options. For example, by selecting “One staple, portrait left”, the user indicates that a staple is to be placed in the top left corner of a portrait oriented output document. Of course, each finishing option that the particular system is capable of producing is normally displayed on the user interface, either in a summary window or on separate windows.
There are at least three significant problems with current methods of selecting finishing parameter options. For one, the finishing option programming method is indirect. That is, the user is required to make selections by way of textual or GUI components such as, e.g., radio option buttons or combo box selections. For another, since all parameters a system is capable of acting upon should be presented in some manner, the user must comprehend what each icon and/or text label means in an oftentimes large list of optional parameters. Then the user needs to correlate that understanding with a mental picture of how the final output document should appear. When the user finds the desired correlation, the user then selects and applies the respective parameter. Unfortunately, the user necessarily parses through many finishing options and therefore makes many comparisons and decisions in order to achieve the one desired outcome.
Yet another problem arises due to the fact that a finishing module has physical limits with respect to capabilities and how it can apply a particular finishing parameter. Therefore, conflict error checking is required to disallow the user from programming a combination of parameters that is not possible for the particular finishing system. Typically, the special behaviors and conflicts of the finishing system are confusing and awkward to the user, and difficult to understand. For these reasons, an improved method of communicating finishing options to a user for selection by the user of a reprographic or printing system is desirable.